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Netflix earnings: One analyst shares what she is watching

Netflix (NFLX) shares are up nearly 25% year-to-date. The streaming giant is set to release its first quarter results on Thursday, April 18, after the market close. Wedbush Securities Vice President of Equity Research Alicia Reese says a couple of things have driven the share price higher: the company's password-sharing crackdown and the launch of its ad tier. On the ad tier, Reese thinks it will become accretive over the course of the year and will grow even more in 2025. Reese argues that, ultimately, ad-tier subscribers will prove to be more valuable than premium-tier subscribers because more advertisers will come aboard as the tier grows. When it comes to earnings, Reese says she does think Netflix will beat expectations, noting that she's watching free cash flow growth given that "they have not had to materially expand their content spend over the last quarter because they're really leaning into more licensed content and not quite as much original content." Watch the video above to hear what Reese says about more live sports content coming to Netflix.  For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode. This post was written by Stephanie Mikulich.